Even when a grandparent has visitation rights pursuant to a court order, that grandparent still does not have the right to object to the custodial parent’s out of state move with the child. Sheehan v. Flower, filed 11-13-2007 by Divison I, Arizona Court of Appeals. Download Sheehan.pdf
Though ARS 25-408 gives a non-custodial parent the right to object to an out of state move, that right does not confer upon a grandparent. That statute refers to the rights of a “parent” and “parenting time” and those words are given their plain meaning in interpreting the statute.
This ruling is not contrary to the court’s holding in Dodge v. Graville (2001) which held that a court may appoint a therapist to supervise visitation between a grandparent and a child, because the language of 25-410B which permits such an appointment is not limited to cases involving “parents”.
